Golf Bag

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a golf bag for receiving golf clubs, comprising a tubular housing part and a storage space for golf clubs forming an inner rotating device which is rotatably arranged inside the tubular housing about the longitudinal axis thereof, wherein an outer rotating device is also provided as a storage space for other golf clubs and/or golf utensils, such that the inner rotating device is arranged inside the annular outer rotating device. The outer rotating device, which is arranged inside the tubular housing part and which can be rotated relative thereto about a common longitudinal axis, and the tubular housing part are respectively provided with a longitudinal opening which extends along the length thereof, enabling golf clubs to be removed laterally from the rotating device or to be inserted into said rotating device(s).

The invention relates to a golf bag for dividing up golf clubs, having a tube-shaped housing part, in which a rotating stand forming an inner rotating device is disposed to rotate about the central longitudinal axis, whereby the tube-shaped housing part has a longitudinal opening that extends parallel to the axis of rotation, through which opening the golf clubs can be removed laterally from the rotating stand, or inserted laterally into the rotating stand.

Such golf bags are known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,082, U.S. Pat. No. 4,915,221, U.S. Pat. No. 6,615,982 B1, and/or U.S. 2003/0106817 A1. In the case of these golf bags, the golf clubs are disposed in a ring-shaped, rotating drum magazine, in each instance, either in such a manner that the club heads are supported on the bottom of the magazine or project upwards out of the drum region, if the drum is arranged in vertical manner. In this connection, the clubs are disposed in a ring-cylinder region, in each instance, in such a manner that their central axes run in mantle lines of a cylinder mantle. It must be viewed as a disadvantage of these known golf bags that in the case of a design of the magazine a number of clubs that corresponds to the greatest possible number of clubs that are allowed to be used in a tournament, the diameter of the magazine, which rotates in the manner of a pipe magazine, becomes very great, in the case of 14 clubs, and the golf bag cannot be attached to a standard pull-cart (trolley), or can only be attached with disproportionately great effort. If, on the other hand, the club magazine is supposed to be able to be carried along by means of a conventional, standard pull-cart, a limitation of the number of golf clubs that can be carried must be accepted, and this is not acceptable for a serious golfer.

It is therefore the task of the invention to create a golf bag of the type stated initially, which is configured to save space, despite being able to carry a complete set of golf clubs that meets the needs of competition, and to be easily carried along by means of a conventional golf pull-cart.

This task is accomplished, in accordance with the fundamental idea of the invention, by means of the total combination of the characteristics of claim 1, and with regard to embodiments of the golf bag that go into greater detail, by means of the characteristics of the dependent claims 2 to 15.

A particularly space-saving arrangement of the golf clubs and the golf bag parts that accommodate them is possible by means of the essentially two-shell structure of the golf bag according to the invention as provided accordingly, having inner rotating plate that can rotate about a central axis, within a tube-shaped housing, and an outer, ring-shaped rotating stand concentric with the plate, the clubs, for example the so-called woods, can be disposed with their heads pointing upwards, in such a manner that the golf bag, which is cylindrical, as a whole, can easily be attached to a conventional pull-cart and carried along by means of such a pull-cart.

Further details of the golf bag according to the invention are evident from the dependent claims, as well as from the following description of a specific exemplary embodiment, using the drawing.

This shows:

FIG. 1 a total view of a golf bag according to the invention, which can be moved by means of a pull-cart, in a schematically simplified perspective view,

FIG. 2 a schematically simplified projection view of the golf bag according to FIG. 1, having a tube-shaped housing part, an outer rotating magazine mounted to rotate in that part, for woods, and an inner rotating magazine surrounded coaxially by the outer magazine, for irons,

FIG. 3 the cylindrical housing part of the golf bag according to FIGS. 1 and 2,

FIG. 4 the inner rotating stand of the golf bag according to FIGS. 1 to 3, in a schematically simplified perspective view,

FIG. 5 an outer view of the activation-side—upper—section of the golf bag according to FIGS. 1 to 4,

FIG. 6 to 9 representations of the golf bag according to FIGS. 1 to 5 in to 9 section at a right angle to the central longitudinal axis, in different functional positions, in each instance, to explain the use of the golf bag according to the invention,

FIG. 10 details of the division of the club accommodation region of the golf bag according to FIGS. 1 to 9, and

FIG. 11 a schematically simplified projection view of a golf bag provided with a textile covering, as can be seen in FIGS. 1 to 10 for the remainder.

The golf bag designated as a whole with 1 in FIGS. 1 and 2 is intended for carrying clubs as well as golf balls and other utensils used as a function of the situation, while golfing. In particular, the clubs are supposed to be protected from water and damage, and it is also supposed to be possible, in simple manner, to remove the various golf club types and sizes as needed, and to store them in orderly manner. It is supposed to be possible to comfortably carry the golf bag by means of a special belt, or to move it with a commercially available pull-cart.

In accordance with the relevant rules of golf, a maximum of 14 golf clubs is allowed to be carried on a golf round, of which a maximum of eleven can be configured as so-called irons, which have relatively short shafts, and other clubs, by means of which golf balls can be driven over relatively long distances of up to 350 m, can be configured as so-called woods, which have longer shafts, and one of the clubs is also configured as a so-called putter, with which it is supposed to be possible to hit the golf ball into the hole over a relatively short distance. For the exemplary embodiment selected for the explanation, let it be assumed that the golf bag is designed for eleven irons, four woods, and one putter. However, it is understood that it must be possible to carry irons and woods in different numerical ratios, as well. In the case of the golf bag 1, an inner rotating device 110 is assigned to the—relatively short—irons 22, as a rotating magazine, in which the clubs 22 are accommodated over their entire length, while the woods 23 have a magazine that is in the shape of a ring cylinder, in terms of its basic shape, or cylindrical on the outside and conical on the inside, assigned to them, which magazine represents an outer device 120 concentric with the inner rotating device 110, which can be rotated about the central longitudinal axis 24.

While the irons 22 are disposed in such a manner that their heads are supported on a bottom part 27, in the shape of a circular disk, of the iron magazine 110 that is essentially configured as a rotating stand, i.e. supported in the lower part of the golf bag 1, the woods 23 are disposed in the outer, rotating, ring-cylinder magazine formed by the outer rotating device 120 that is assigned to them, in such a manner that they are supported on a lower bottom plate 11 in the shape of a circular ring with their shaft ends, and woods 23 projecting out of their magazine 120 at the top of the golf bag 1, in such a manner that the heads 28 are disposed relatively far outside of the woods magazine 120. The magazines 110 and 120 which can rotate about the central longitudinal axis 24, for the irons 22 and the woods 23, respectively—in total, the clubs—which are disposed coaxial to one another, can be rotated by hand, by means of a rotating handle disposed at the upper end 8 of the inner rotating device 110, i.e. the magazine for the irons 22, relative to a fixed housing part 100 of the golf bag 1, i.e. a part that can be fixed in place on the trolley 21, in such a manner that the magazines 110 and/or 120 can be rotated into defined positions, by means of being rotated about a central axis of rotation 24, in which positions a selected wood 23 or a selected iron 22 can be laterally removed from the position assigned to it, in the region of a longitudinal opening 2/2 of the tube-shaped outer housing part 110, or can be put back into the position assigned to it within the magazine in question, in targeted manner.

In this connection, removal of the clubs 22 or 23 takes place by hand, not axially but horizontally. It can also take place “semi-automatically,” i.e. it can be supported with a power motor; this can be implemented in simple manner, for example, by means of a battery-powered motor.

The golf bag 1 is structured in such a manner that a selection can be made, by means of optionally activating the rotating handle 29, for example by means of a limited axial displacement of this handle from a first functional position into a second functional position, and vice versa, as to whether—in the one functional position—the inner—tube-shaped—magazine 110 for the irons 22 alone can be rotated relative to the outer magazine 120 for the woods 23 that surrounds this magazine, or whether—in the other functional position of the rotating handle 29—both magazines 110 and 120 together can be rotated relative to the outer housing tube 100 of the golf bag 1.

The pre-selection for removal of an iron is undertaken, using the rotating handle 29 (FIG. 4) that is disposed on the upper end 8, in such a manner that the corresponding number of the selected club becomes visible within a window of the upper part 8 of the inner magazine 110. In order to remove this club, the outer rotating device 120—together with the inner rotating device 110—must then be rotated in such a manner that a recess (A) provided for removal of the selected club, shown in the detail view of FIG. 6, is disposed with azimuthal coverage identical with the longitudinal opening 2/2, according to the representation in FIGS. 1 and 3, and thus the iron can be removed from the inner rotating device 110—the inner “iron” magazine—essentially through an open region of the outer rotating device 120.

In order to remove a specific wood 23, all that is necessary is to bring the wood intended to be removed into the suitable position within the removal opening 2/2 of the outer housing mantle 100, with which a radial removal slot 130, open at the edge, of the upper cover ring (FIG. 5) of the outer rotating device 120 stands in communicating connection, independent of what position the inner rotating device 110 is assuming within the outer rotating device 120.

To explain additional structural details of the golf bag 1 according to the invention, reference will now be made to related details of FIGS. 3 to 11.

The housing part 100 in the form of a tube-shaped cylinder, shown in FIG. 3, has a cylindrical mantle 33 provided with the extended longitudinal opening 2/2 and a bottom 34 in the form of a circular disk, from which a cylindrical bolt projects centrally, provided for rotational mounting of the inner rotating device 110—the iron magazine—the central axis 24 of which also marks the axis of rotation for the rotating devices 110 and 120.

The bolt 2, which extends over only a small part of the total length, i.e. height of the housing part 100, is provided, at its free end, with a groove-shaped groove 2/1 for a Seeger locking ring 36, which serves for axial fixation of an accommodation sleeve 4 (FIG. 4), which rests against the inside of the bottom 34 of the housing part 100 with a radial “lower” ring flange 37, which essentially forms the lower slide bearing element for rotational mounting of the inner rotating part 110.

The longitudinal opening 2/2 of the housing part 100, whose longitudinal edges 2/21 and 2/2 r, which run parallel to the longitudinal axis 24, extend over the predominant part of the length, i.e. height of the mantle 33 of the tube-shaped housing part 100, have an azimuthal distance α of about 60° from one another, seen in the direction of the longitudinal axis 24, which corresponds to a clear width w of the longitudinal opening 2/2 of 12 to 15 cm, in the case of typical dimensions of the longitudinal opening 2/2, which is sufficient for comfortable removal of irons from the inner magazine. The circular bottom 34 of the housing part 100 is sufficiently stable that the golf bag 1 can be set down vertically on its level bottom. A narrow longitudinal slot 39 extends between the upper crosswise edge of the longitudinal opening 2/2 and the upper, essentially circular face edge of the mantle 33 of the tube-shaped housing part, the width of which slot is dimensioned sufficiently so that the shaft of a wood 23 that can be removed from the outer magazine 110 can easily be moved through it.

The upper face edge 38 serves for engagement into a ring groove of the upper circular ring-shaped cover 32 of the outer rotating part 120 (FIG. 5), and forms the upper rotating guide element, in this regard, for the outer rotating device 120 that forms the magazine for the woods 23, which can be inserted into the tube-shaped housing part 100 “from the top.”

The outer edge 39/a of a lower ring disk 39, which is connected with the upper ring disk 32 by means of four extended trapezoidal struts 41 (compare FIGS. 6 to 9), serves as the “lower” guide element 39 of the outer rotating device, which divides the space between the two ring disks 32 and 39 into four 90° sector regions A, B, C, D, which in turn can be utilized for accommodation of diverse golf articles, by means of sector-shaped intermediate bottoms (FIG. 2 and FIG. 9), into accommodation compartments.

Three of the sector regions A, B, C, D, in the case of the selected exemplary embodiment the regions B, C, and D, are closed off, by means of a conical inner wall, which extends between the upper ring cover 32 and the lower ring disk 39, from the interior space of the golf bag 1, which has a complementary, cone-shaped edge, and through which an extended tube 6 having a thin wall passes, which carries the rotating handle 29 at its upper end and is firmly connected with the accommodation sleeve 4 at its lower end, with a tight fit, which sleeve forms the bottom-side rotational mounting element for the inner rotating magazine for the irons 22.

A circular accommodation bed 3/1 (FIG. 4) in the form of a flat pot is firmly connected with the lower end of the tube 6, which bed is guided to rotate within the housing tube 100, sliding in the vicinity of the bottom 34, with its low, projecting mantle region. The irons are supported in this accommodation bed 3/1 with their club heads, which are fitted against the bed with a shape fit, whereby this bed 3/1 is introduced into the pot 3, for example cast in. Elastically resilient holders 5 and 7 (FIG. 4) for the shafts of the irons 22 are attached to the tube 6 at a vertical distance from one another, and are provided with recesses having open edges, not specifically shown, in which the shafts can be fixed in place with a force fit. By means of the holders 5 and 7, which preferably consist of a rubber-elastic material, the inner rotating device 110 and then, in the end result, also the outer rotating device 120, is protected from damage caused by the golf clubs 22 and/or 23.

In the case of the outer rotating device 120, a clear space that narrows radially conically inward is delimited by the two struts 41/1 and 41/r, which form the longitudinal delimitations of the sector quadrant A (FIG. 10), through which clear space irons 22 can be removed, if this clear space is, at the same time, disposed in such a manner that it is accessible through the longitudinal opening 2/2 of the tube-shaped housing part 100.

The other quadrant regions, which are closed off towards the inside by means of the conical inner wall 40, on the inside, and which can be divided into accommodation compartments disposed vertically on top of one another by means of the intermediate bottoms 42, can be used for stacking purposes for golf utensils, which compartments are in turn accessible, when rotated appropriately, by way of the longitudinal opening 2/2 of the tube-shaped housing part 100, for filling in or removing objects.

In a practical embodiment of the accommodation compartments, it is provided that at least the accommodation compartments that are disposed on one side of the slot-shaped free space of the outer rotating part, which are disposed within a quadrant, e.g. the quadrant D, which is disposed lying opposite the quadrant within which the woods are held, are provided with covers, by means of which these can be closed off in sealed manner, jointly. By means of rotating these accommodation compartments into the region of the opening slot of the tube-shaped housing part 100, in the closed state, these covers can then be utilized for closing the longitudinal opening and therefore for sealing off the interior of the golf bag.

It can furthermore be practical if the upper part can be covered, in sealed manner, by means of a separate cover hood or sheath.

In the case of the exemplary embodiment selected for the explanation, according to the representation in FIG. 7, accommodations 46/1 to 46/4 for the shaft ends of woods 23 are provided merely in the quadrant B of the outer rotating device 120, and are configured as elastically resilient holder elements that are disposed at the top of the ring disk 39.

Furthermore, a tube 13 for accommodating an umbrella—not shown—is provided in this region, which umbrella can be pulled out of the quadrant region B “vertically” towards the top, independent of where this region is in terms of azimuth.

Furthermore, holders or cover devices for objects that can be housed in these quadrant regions can be provided in the accommodation regions delimited by the longitudinal struts 41 as well as the crosswise bottoms 14 and 42, respectively.

If the stacking region delimited by the longitudinal crosspieces and possible crosswise bottoms as well as cover devices is not sufficient for accommodating utensils, additional baggage pockets (FIG. 11) can be provided, which can be fitted to the shape of the golf bag 1 with shape fit, constricted onto it, or constricted on the bag as pocket-like or bag-like additions.

Complete covering of the golf bag 1 is also possible, in such a manner that it is configured like a conventional golf bag on the outside, and practically cannot be differentiated from such a bag, if this is desired by the user.

In the case of the golf bag according to the invention, the club heads 26 of the irons 22 are disposed in the ring space between the lower ring disk 39 (FIG. 2), the outer rotating device 120, and the bottom part 27, in the form of a ring disk, of the inner rotating device 110, whereby this arrangement, seen in the direction of the common central longitudinal axis 24 of the two rotating devices, is analogous to a configuration of wheel blades of a fan wheel.

In order to be able to comfortably remove the irons, the essentially trapezoid recess 47 (FIG. 10) is provided within the sector region A of the outer rotating device, through which the head 26 of the iron selected, in each instance, can be brought out and put back in again.

It also corresponds to a practical embodiment of the golf bag that an upper region of the outer rotating device 120, which projects out of the housing part 100, is essentially closed off on the circumference, but has at least one slot that runs longitudinally, for removing clubs, through which the shaft of the iron to be removed can pass.

Furthermore, it is practical if the recess in the bottom of the outer rotating device 120 and the slot in the upper region of the outer rotating device are disposed in the same position, in terms of azimuth. 

1-17. (canceled)
 18. Golf bag for accommodating golf clubs (22, 23), having a) a tube-shaped housing part (100), b) in which a rotating stand is disposed, so as to rotate about the longitudinal axis (24) of the part, which stand forms an inner rotating device, which serves as a magazine for such golf clubs, for example irons (22), and c) having another rotating stand, which forms an outer rotating device (120), serving as a magazine for additional golf clubs, for example woods (23), which is disposed in the tube-shaped housing part (100) so as to rotate relative to the latter, whereby d) the magazines (110) and/or (120) that can rotate about the central longitudinal axis (24) and are disposed coaxial to one another, for the irons (22) and the woods (23), respectively, can be rotated individually or together, as needed—for example by hand—about the central axis of rotation (24), into defined positions, in which positions the selected iron (22) or wood (23) that is needed can be laterally removed, in the region of a longitudinal opening (2/2) of the tube-shaped housing part (100) intended both for removal of the woods (23) and for removal of the irons (22), or can be put back into the magazine in question, whereby furthermore e) the club (22), in each instance, can be removed from the inner magazine (110) by way of a recess of the outer rotating device (120) for removal, which gets into an arrangement with the longitudinal opening (2/2) of the tube-shaped housing part (100) in which they have equal coverage, and whereby f) in order to remove a club from the outer magazine (120), this magazine can be rotated into a position, independent of the position of the inner rotating device (110), in which a removal slot (31) of the outer magazine (120), open at the edge, stands in communicating connection with the longitudinal opening (2/2) of the tube-shaped housing part (100).
 19. Golf bag according to claim 18, wherein at least one cover (18) is present in the case of the outer rotating device (120), which is azimuthally wider than the longitudinal opening (2/2) of the housing part (100), so that the interior of the golf bag (1) can be closed off by means of a relative rotation between the housing mantle (100) and the outer rotating device (120).
 20. Golf bag according to claim 18, wherein the inner rotating device (110) is designed for accommodating irons (22).
 21. Golf bag according to 18, wherein the outer rotating device (120) is designed for accommodating putters and/or woods and/or golf utensils.
 22. Golf bag according to claim 18, wherein the inner rotating device (110) is mounted to rotate on a bolt (2) in the housing part (100), whereby the bolt (2) engages into an accommodation opening (4) at the bottom of the inner rotating device (110).
 23. Golf bag according to claim 18, wherein an upper end (8) of the inner rotating device (110) projects out of the housing part (100) and the outer rotating device (120), upwards, and has an activation device (8; 29) for turning the inner rotating device (110).
 24. Golf bag according to claim 18, wherein the inner rotating device (110) has a rod or a pipe (6), about which the golf clubs (22, 23) can be grouped, whereby a scale (19) with club numbers is disposed in the upper region.
 25. Golf bag according to claim 24, wherein the rod or the pipe (6) is provided with a bottom pot (3), which has an accommodation bed (3/1) for accommodating club heads of the golf clubs.
 26. Golf bag according to claim 25, wherein the pot (3) is guided in a bottom region (2, 34) of the housing part (100).
 27. Golf bag according to claim 18, wherein the housing part (100) is configured as a sleeve, the upper end of which is open for insertion of the outer rotating device (120), whereby an upper end of the outer rotating device (120) projects beyond the lower housing part (100), upwards.
 28. Golf bag according to claim 18, wherein the outer rotating device (120) is essentially open in its region that is accommodated in the housing part (100), with the exception of the cover, and has at least two, preferably four, struts (10; 41) distributed equidistantly in the circumference direction, and narrow in the circumference direction.
 29. Golf bag according to claim 28, wherein the struts (10) extend over a radial partial region of the outer rotating device (120), and divide the outer rotating device (120) into at least two, preferably four sector-shaped divisions (A, B, C, D).
 30. Golf bag according to claim 18, wherein the outer rotating device (120) has a bottom (11) at its lower end, which has a recess (A) for removing or introducing clubs into the inner rotating device (110).
 31. Golf bag according to claim 18, wherein an upper region of the outer rotating device (120), which projects out of the housing part (100), is essentially closed on the circumference, and has at least one slot that runs longitudinally, for removing clubs.
 32. Golf bag according to claim 30, wherein the recess (A) in the bottom of the outer rotating device (120) and the at least one slot in the upper region of the outer rotating device (120) are disposed in the same position, in terms of azimuth.
 33. Golf bag according to claim 30, wherein the upper region of the outer rotating device (120) and/or the cover (18) of the outer rotating device (120) is transparent.
 34. Golf bag according to claim 18, wherein it can be broken down into the housing part (100) the inner rotating device (110), and the outer rotating device (120). 